Storming tides crashed against the old dock. The wind howled against the old and moulted wood, ships tied down rumbling its sides. Their large hulls banged and crashed in a strange rhythm, following the waves as they continued to fight against the man made structure.
Up at the very front of it, holding on tight to the rickety steel beams, were two strangers standing in wet coats. The shorter one, a doctor named Yvonne Harding, stared out at the ocean. Her gaze swept over the thundering waves as they continued to pound the dock. Yet her grip remained stead fast and strong, refusing to let go from what little safety they were given.
The man next to her, however, was not fairing so well.
“You sure you’ve seen worst storms that this?” he yelled out to her, his voice carrying through the wind through sheer force alone.
“Definitely,” she replied in an equally loud call. “The oceans a tricky beast. I’ve had my close calls with it before. Come on, it’s not too bad. Forecast said it should cool down soon enough.”
“Yeah, but it also said it may pick up. Especially where you’re going. Are you sure they will be piloting a boat in this weather? This is an important job you’re taking and we wouldn’t want you hurt at all.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said. “And yes, they are coming. We received a radio transmission about 10 minutes ago confirming they would be here around now.”
“Then where are they?”
Yvonne sighed. He had a point. By now they should have seen the bright white headlights of a ship approaching them, breaking through the rough weather and landing at this port. Yet none had appeared. The radio had been a bit spotty, though that was never a real cause for concern. Storms always messed with communications. If they said they were coming, they were coming.
It wasn’t like this type of dialogue wasn’t expected, either. For the last five years, the local government had become concerned with the private research base, Aqua Trident, off the coast of their shores. There was no proof that they had anything to do with the poor weather. That said, there was really nothing they knew about it at all. The base claimed to be researching tide patterns and marine life to improve shipping, but it never filed reports or documents for its findings. No scientific journals, no messages, not even a review of the inventory. It was entirely secret.
It didn’t help that it was owned by John Baker, one of the worlds wealthiest men. His company created large cargo ships for transporting goods all around the world. But they ran a bit differently to others. Typically, they would be bought up by companies to do their own shipping. He decided to charge extremely low prices of his ships use, which ended up resulting in a monopoly on world trade. Seven years ago when he was forced to stop this practice, despite his protests and exorbitant amounts of money spent on the trial. Yet even now, he still controlled around 20% of global trade.
Which is what made getting this job so difficult.
Aqua Trident was a private base owned in the middle of the ocean. No country could legally make claim to it. It was only when a number of dead animals began washing up on the nearby shores that an enquiry was made. A few people had reviewed what they could – architects, engineers, the works – but no suspicious findings were made. Which is why Dr Harding was selected to go first hand and investigate it herself.
Her research into marine life, along with her years of experience out in the ocean, made her the perfect candidate for this mission. She had previously acted as a consultant on at least three different off-shore rigs, five prototype ships, and trained more students than she can remember. If there were anyone more qualified for this role, they couldn’t be found.
As they stared out, the white lights of a boat appeared from under the water. Yvonne covered her face, the glow burned into her eyes. As her gaze slowly adjusted, she glanced back. It was a submarine. One that could travel at least a thousand metres below sea-level. She couldn’t identify any flag or insignia, but caught the name Arion tagged on its side.
It rose to meet the dock, the waves around it strangely subsiding. The top hatch of the submarine opened up. A big burly man dressed in some kind of security get up rose from inside it, glancing out to the dock where the two civilians stood. He grinned at the sight of them and called down the hatch. A few guards came out from behind him, throwing out ropes to latch onto the dock. They pulled themselves in and anchored in place.
The head security officer glanced out to the two and smiled.
“Could one of you stretch out a plank?” he called. “Or just something for me to walk across?”
The man beside Yvonne sprang to action. He grabbed onto the nearby gangway and rolled it out to the end of the dock. He lowered it down, just about reaching the submarines hull. Him and Yvonne began to tie the ropes to the gangway, securing it in place as the head officer boarded the jetty.
“Good to finally meet you, Dr Harding,” he said, holding out a hand for the man. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”
The man glanced down to his hand, then over to Yvonne. She sighed and extended her own hand.
“Glad to meet you too,” Yvonne said. “And you would be?”
The security guard looked down on Yvonne, surprised. He quickly recovered himself and, coughing briefly into his hand, stretched out another one and took hers.
“Wayne Troughton, head of security. Forgive me, I was only told you were called Dr Harding.”
“Apology accepted, Mr Troughton,” Yvonne said calmly. “But I suggest that we get into your submarine soon. This storm looks to be picking up pace and we’d be much safer under the sea.”
“I suppose,” Wayne shrugged.
He turned to call out to the crew to remove the ropes and prepare to submerge once again. Yvonne headed across the gangway to the hatch of the submarine, holding onto the rope bridge carefully so as to not fall off. The weather had improved, she noticed. Now that the submarine was here it was much easier to move, the last spattering of water slowly running off her raincoat.
The doctor decided to put that to coincidence more than anything.
She headed inside the submarine and down the hatch. It was surprisingly spacious. Most submarines she had been in before were cramped, suffocating halls of steel. Here, the walls were lined with an array of high-tech touchscreen consoles. Lights above them were bright and inviting, not like the dull ones she was used to. There was a clear feeling that this place was lived in, or at the very least designed to look good.
Yvonne frowned. This sort of design was by someone who wanted a futuristic submarine with the latest technology. Not the design of a good submarine. A small alarm bell went off in the back of her mind.
If this is what the transport was like, then it would be important to see the actual base.
Wayne led her further through the submarine to her temporary quarters. She took of her jacket to dry and set down her pack on the bed. She had only taken a small bag with her, enough to carry a notepad and a few snacks. He then led her through the rest of the ship as a kind of tour. The rest of the submarine was similarly high-tech yet over ambitious. Like it was trying to be from a sci-fi set rather than an actual vehicle.
Dr Harding noticed as well how Wayne talked her through all the parts of the submarine. Despite her insistence that she knew what everything did – she had been inside plenty of subs before – he explained it all like she were a child. About how the went up and down in the water with the ballast tanks, how they were powered by a nuclear reactor, how the radar could detect anything within 10 kilometres of their position. Everything that made it clear to her that she was not expected to know anything.
She simply sighed and went along with it. It wasn’t the first time someone like Wayne talked over her.
A part of her expected more of this the further they dove.
Eventually they made it to the mess hall. This place was similarly well lit and clean, with a serving station to one side and hardly anyone around.
“Crews already had breakfast,” Wayne said. “We should be free to talk in private here.”
“Why do we need to talk in private?” Yvonne asked.
“Because I want to get to know you a bit better. We are arriving at a highly classified base in an hour, and as head of security I need to know who I’m bringing along. And given I didn’t even realise you were a woman, I think we should go over everything.”
Dr Harding raised an eyebrow. Surely as head of security he should have done his own research on her. Or at the very least had a proper briefing. If he hadn’t even bothered to do a background check on her, that could only mean two things.
One, he wanted to do this on purpose. To have her sit down and explain everything about her life and what she was doing here. It was a common intimidation tactic, she found. One which put him in the position of power. If she was afraid of him she’d likely be nicer, fawning up to him and their trip under the sea.
Or two, he was terrible at his job.
“So,” he began, sitting down with a sigh. “What are you’re credentials?”
“Credentials?” the doctor said, raising an eyebrow. “You’re asking a doctor what her credentials are?”
“Just… wanted to make sure. An academic degree is one thing. How do I know you will judge this place fairly against other stations? It is rather unique by design.”
“If it’s anything like this sub, I’d be inclined to agree,” she muttered. Despite her misgivings – or perhaps because of them – she began to explain. Twenty five years of experience out in the ocean, cataloguing some of the most diverse groups of fish and mammal species. Seven years as a designer of ships, boats, submarines, and all other forms of marine vehicles and stations. Three years as a professor at Harvard in marine biology.
Overall, fairly high credentials.
Wayne, for what he was worth, was at least impressed by her number of achievements. Still, he pushed her further, ‘just making sure’ she knew what she was talking about. He began to pry into her personal life. Into the things she was interested in. Despite Yvonne trying to end the conversation kindly, he kept pushing for more.
“And are we sure you can keep a secret here? While we expect some level of explanation to your government, there is a lot we would rather keep under wraps. Trade secrets, you know?”
“Oh I’m sure,” Yvonne said. “Rest assured, I’ve signed more than a couple NDA’s in my life time. Though I have to ask: what is with all of the security around here? Surely Mr Baker–”
The communication system above them clicked to life. Yvonne winced slightly, still not used to the loud ringing after all these years. She glanced across to Wayne, who was obviously more acquainted with this loud buzzing.
“Coming up on Aqua Trident now,” a male voice said over the comms. “Prepare for arrival. Repeat: prepare for arrival.”
“Best come with me, Yvonne,” Wayne said to her as men began to rush to their stations. “Mr Baker will want you up near the Moon Pool.”
“Moon Pool?” She asked curiously. That was rather surprising. Moon pools were generally only for smaller submarines. Enough to let people swim up through. She’d never heard of one the size of this submarine. “This station has a moon pool?”
“We have three of them,” Wayne grinned, obviously proud of the high number.
Yvonne’s eyes widened. Three? The price for one this size alone would have been enormous. Stations hardly ever needed more than that. Even then it was not a standard practice. They were only used when it was absolutely necessary.
So if they had three… just how big was this base?
She followed after Wayne as he lead them back to where they entered earlier, briefly detouring to get her pack. The ballast tanks filled with air and lead them up into the moon pool, water rushing down the sides. Once the light went green, Wayne released the locks on the door and they stepped out into the bright station.
After spending so long inside the dark room of the submarine, Yvonne squinted her eyes as the lights shone into her tired eyes. She blinked and squinted, just making out the pristine white station around her. Half a dozen people dressed in full-body swimsuits checked control panels and pressure valves, making sure that the pool could handle the new large body within it. Once the all clear was given, a ramp extended out from the side and landed on the ship.
Wayne led her across it. She had to admit, it was a rather impressive sight. It certainly was one of the finest stations she had ever been in. Bright, clean, all around amazing. Stepping onto it, she felt as if she were on solid land. She had to remind herself they were likely floating in the middle of the ocean, carefully aligned propellers or cables reaching down to the depths below keeping them stable.
One of the staff gave her a key card, explaining to her how it would give her access around the station where she was allowed. She was surprised to see her face on it. Where had they got the picture?
“This way,” Wayne said, marching her to one of the far doors. “Can’t keep the boss waiting.”
They entered through the door, locks releasing as a hiss of air crept out of it. Yvonne assumed it was to keep the pressure level throughout the station. They entered into a smaller room, filled with clean floors, clean filing cabinets, clean everything. In one corner of the room sat two people. The first was a petite dark-skinned woman Yvonne didn’t recognise. Based on her outfit she must have been a scientist of some kind.
She instantly recognised the man next to her. Though before she could properly introduce herself, he sprung up and hopped right over. He smiled through his greying beard, eyes twinkling as he shook her hand.
“Dr Harding,” he said. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m John Baker. I must say, it is a great privileged to have you onboard. Welcome to Aqua Trident.”
Read next part here
Thumbnail picture by me
Cheesman Chronicles 
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